Bobby Reyes was a member of Bronze cohort. Originally working in healthcare, DESIGNATION was the jumpstart he needed to refocus his career into visual and product design. He now works at Matchup and leads the ChicagoRuby meetup group.

Where are you now working, and what is your job title?
I’m working at Matchup as a product designer.

Tell us a little bit about your new job!
Matchup is a mobile and web based app that allows users to participate in fitness challenges with friends and coworkers to stay active together. Currently I’m working on some cool stuff for our web app and it’s been great being able to pair with our lead designer and developers.

How would you describe the DESIGNATION experience?
There’s only one word to describe it: Intense! Going through Designation was lot of hard but very rewarding.

“There’s only one word to describe it: Intense! Going through Designation was lot of hard but very rewarding.”

What was the most interesting or useful thing you learned during the cohort?
The most useful thing I learned was the concept of design thinking and that design wasn’t only about the visuals.

What are the people at DESIGNATION like (including staff, instructor and fellow students)?
The people are really what make the program. I was fortunate to work along side some smart people who were always willing to help no matter what.

What were you doing before you came to DESIGNATION?
I was working in healthcare and looking to make a career move into design.

“Go make things. Never stop learning and get involved in the tech community because you never know where it will lead.”

How did you hear about DESIGNATION, and why did you decide to come?
I actually found out about the program on Twitter. A friend of mine, who is an illustrator too, retweeted a tweet from DESIGNATION. I had wanted to make a career change and after learning more about the program I decided to make the jump.

How did DESIGNATION help prepare you for your new role?
It gave me a solid foundation in UX design principles and gave me a chance to collaborate with other designers on real projects.

What was your favorite part of the DESIGNATION experience?
The people. I had a blast working and hanging out with students and the instructors. From white boarding sessions to daily trips to Whole Foods it’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget.

What advice would you give to someone who was trying to break into the industry?
Go make things. Never stop learning and get involved in the tech community because you never know where it will lead. Getting involved in the community has lead me to now co-organizing ChicagoRuby, a meetup group with over 3,000 members, which eventually lead me to Matchup.